Circuit closer



Sept. 30, 1941. A. McP. HAMBY 2,257,679

CIRCUIT CLOSER Filed Nov. 22, 1959 Patented Sept. 30, 1941 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFECE CIRCUIT CLOSER Allan McP. Hamby, Cottage City, Md.

Application November 22, 1939, Serial No. 305,743

1 Claim.

My invention consists in a new and useful improvement in circuit closersand is designed more particularly to provide a device to close thecircuit of the ordinary string of Christmas tree lights, to locate aburned out lamp bulb. Since the lamps in such a string of lights are inseries, a burned out lamp causing a break in the circuit puts out allthe lights on the string. The usual method of finding the burned outlamp is to unscrew from their sockets each lamp on the string, replacingit with a lamp known to have an unbroken filament. When the good lampreplaces the burned out lamp, all the lamps on the string glow. Thismethod is extremely tedious and often quite difficult owing to thedistribution of the several lamps of the string among the boughs andornaments of the Christmas tree. Since the burning out of the lamps is avery common occurrence, this difficult method of overcoming the failureof the string is quite irksome and annoying, and it is to avoid suchannoyance that my improved device is intended. My device has a metallicmember having teeth which penetrate the insulated covering of theelectric wires and contacting the two wires entering each socket on thestring effect an electrical contact between the wires. When the deviceis applied to the wires leading to the burned out bulb, the break in thecircuit caused by the burned out bulb is closed and the remaining lampsin the string glow. The faulty bulb having been located is then replacedby a good bulb. The application of my device to the wires is easilyaccomplished as I provide a pair of clamping members, one carrying thecontact member, having handles so pivoted that when the members areplaced about the wires they may be moved by the handles to grip thewires and force the teeth of the contact member into the wires andeffect the contact.

While I have illustrated in the drawing filed herewith and havehereinafter fully described one specific embodiment of my device, it isto be distinctly understood that I do not consider my invention limitedto said specific embodi ment, but refer for its scope to the claimappended hereto.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my device.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of my device shown in connection with anelectric light bulb and the wires therefor.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical section on the line 3-3 ofFig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

As illustrated in the drawing, my device consists of a pair of clampingmembers A and B of any suitable insulating material, provided with thepivotally connected handles A| and Bl. Suitably mounted in the member Ais a contact element I of any suitable conducting material, providedwith a serrated edge protruding from the inner face A-2 of the memher Aand forming a series of fangs 2 adapted to penetrate the insulation Iand contact the electric wires W. The member B is provided on its innerface B2 with the longitudinal groove 3 registering with the element I.From the foregoing description of the details of construction of myimproved device, its use and operation is obvious. The device ispositioned, as illustrated in Fig. 2, so that the wires W from thesocket S of the lamp L pass between the members A and B. By manipulationof thehandles A---! and Bl, the members A and. B are caused to grip theWires W, thereby forcing the fangs 2 through the insulation I and intothe braided wires W, as illustrated in Fig. 3. If the filament of thelamp L has become ruptured, thereby causing the failure of the circuitof the string of lamps, it is obvious that the contact member I willrestore the circuit, causing the other lamps in the circuit to glow.Thus it is obvious that when my device is applied, as above described,to the wires leading to the socket of the burned out lamp,-the glowingof the other lamps of the string indicates that the lamp being tested isthe burned out lamp which has to be replaced.

Having described my invention, what I claim In a device adapted toeffect electrical contact between two insulated electric wires, thecombination of a block of insulating material having a rectilinear face;a plate of conducting material having one edge serrated, mountedlongitudinally of said block so that its serrations protrude beyond thesaid face of said block; a second block. of insulating material providedwith a rectilinear face in which is a longitudinal shallow concavegroove; and a pair of pivoted handles on which said blocks arerespectively mounted in such a way that when the blocks are forcedtogether by said handles the plate and the groove register and the pairof Wires to which the device is applied are gripped by the faces of theblocks in such a way that the wires are curved to conform with theconcavity of the groove and the serrated edge of the plate is caused topenetrate the insulation of the wires and simultaneously contact bothWires.

ALLAN McP. HAMBY.

